Second half woes sink Senators

Published 8:00 pm, Saturday, October 4, 2008

For 24 minutes the Brien McMahon football team, especially its defense, did what it had to do Saturday afternoon to forge a 0-0 halftime tie against Westhill.

But the Vikings took advantage of McMahon mistakes to score two touchdowns in the third quarter and another in the fourth to come away with the 21-0 FCIAC victory.

McMahon drops to 1-3 on the season and in the conference. Westhill improves to 2-2 overall and 1-2 in the FCIAC.

"I'm very disappointed, and I told my players that," McMahon head coach Joe SantaLucia said. "I never mind if a team beats us on plays they made. We missed tackles, we missed blocks. I don't know what to do or say. Westhill played football better than us."

Trending Video

Westhill took the opening kickoff of the third quarter and proceeded to march 67 yards in eight plays to put the first points on the scoreboard.

McMahon had a chance to stop the drive at its 45-yard line, but a too-many-men-on-the-field penalty allowed the Vikings to convert a fourth-and-three.

A holding penalty on the next play wiped out a touchdown scamper by halfback Daren McNeil, but a point-of-the-foul penalty set the Vikings up with a first down at the 30.

Halfback Danny Berisha ran a counter play to the left and took the ball to the 2-yard line. Berisha burst through the right side for the score and a 6-0 lead with 7:31 left in the third quarter.

McMahon took the ensuing kickoff and moved 10 yards before that possession stalled. On third-and-10, quarterback Nick Blosio rolled left and threw to wide receiver Zach Ruther for what would have been a 40-yard gain.

But Blosio was ruled to have been beyond the line of scrimmage when he threw the pass. The flag cost the Senators just two yards -- and a crucial loss of down.

From punt formation, Michael Graham tried to run for the 12 yards but only made it back to the line of scrimmage.

After a holding penalty against Westhill, the Vikings lined up at their 46-yard line. On the first play quarterback Adler Florian lofted a pass down the middle of the field.

McNeil went up over cornerback Shadram Thelusca and came down with the ball at the 2-yard line to complete the 52-yard play.

Berisha was swamped on first down and lost four yards, but two plays later Florian ran right for six yards and the touchdown with 1:49 to go in the quarter. Berisha's two-point run in the same direction put Westhill ahead 14-0.

"We wanted to be able to dominate the line of scrimmage," Blosio said. "This was a tough loss. We wanted to get the run game going, but we weren't consistent enough. The defense kept us in it, especially in the first half. We have to get points up to make it easier on our defense."

McMahon's next possession reached its 48-yard line on a fourth-and-9. In punt formation, blocking back Matt Restivo took the direct snap and bulled his way for only five yards.

Westhill needed six plays to go 53 yards and record the clinching touchdown.

McNeil carried for 20 yards on first down, and two runs from Florian -- the second on fourth-and-2 -- put the Vikings at the McMahon 21. Florian used a draw up the middle to reach the end zone for a 21-0 lead with 7:42 remaining in the game.

"I challenged the kids to do what we told them to do in the second half," Westhill head coach Richard Cerone said. "Both teams went into halftime to figure out what to do and make adjustments. We have three guys in the backfield who can run, and they kept trying to make plays. McMahon's a pretty good football team, and anytime you shut someone out it's an accomplishment. That defense played absolutely phenomenal."

In the first quarter a trade of turnovers -- a fumble by Zaire Reiph and Restivo's interception -- gave McMahon the ball at its 30. A 12-play possession got to Westhill's 27, but Blosio was stopped three yards short on a fourth-down run.

Berisha muffed a Graham punt in the second quarter, forcing Westhill to begin at its 2. McMahon held, forcing a punt that put the Senators in business at the Viking 41.

Both teams turned the ball over on downs, giving McMahon one last first-half opportunity with 14.4 seconds to go.

On first down, Blosio tossed a strike in between four Westhill defenders that hit Reiph in the hands but fell incomplete. Linebacker Mike Ruffin intercepted Blosio on the next play, securing the scoreless first half.

"I'm definitely disappointed," SantaLucia said. "You can't get away from blocking and tackling, and we showed poor blocking and poor tackling today. I'm upset. If I'm going to lose, then I'm going to lose with underclassmen. We're not going to win another game if we play like this."